West Des Moines, Iowa demographics

West Des Moines, IA demographics: median age 36.0; 54.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · West Des Moines city, Iowa · Incorporated city · GEOID 1983910. The survey estimates a population of 71,083 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in West Des Moines is 36.0 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.1 years. There are 32,233 households (±841). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	36.0 ±1.1	38.6 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 71,083
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Under 18	14,955 ±1,045	21.0% ±1.5 pp	22.9%	22.0%
18–34	19,508 ±1,234	27.4% ±1.7 pp	22.5%	22.8%
35–64	25,897 ±1,309	36.4% ±1.8 pp	36.5%	38.0%
65 and older	10,723 ±704	15.1% ±1.0 pp	18.1%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 71,083
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Male	34,958 ±815	49.2% ±1.1 pp	50.2%	49.5%
Female	36,125 ±813	50.8% ±1.1 pp	49.8%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 71,083
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
White alone	56,440 ±1,495	79.4% ±2.1 pp	84.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	3,581 ±710	5.0% ±1.0 pp	3.9%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	10 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	4,546 ±1,078	6.4% ±1.5 pp	2.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±24 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,752 ±551	2.5% ±0.8 pp	2.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	4,754 ±986	6.7% ±1.4 pp	6.6%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 71,083
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	66,480 ±906	93.5% ±1.3 pp	92.7%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	4,603 ±882	6.5% ±1.2 pp	7.3%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,233
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Married-couple family	12,866 ±650	39.9% ±1.7 pp	48.3%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	1,496 ±377	4.6% ±1.2 pp	4.3%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	2,633 ±376	8.2% ±1.1 pp	9.0%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	11,620 ±932	36.1% ±2.7 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	3,618 ±491	11.2% ±1.5 pp	7.6%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,233
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Households with people under 18	8,287 ±475	25.7% ±1.3 pp	28.5%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	23,946 ±1,042	74.3% ±2.6 pp	71.5%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 32,233
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	11,620 ±932	36.1% ±2.7 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	11,620 ±788	36.1% ±2.3 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	4,036 ±557	12.5% ±1.7 pp	12.9%	15.3%
Four-person households	2,780 ±409	8.6% ±1.2 pp	11.4%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,465 ±313	4.5% ±1.0 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	483 ±140	1.5% ±0.4 pp	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	229 ±102	0.7% ±0.3 pp	1.0%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 71,083
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Native	63,352 ±1,101	89.1% ±1.5 pp	94.1%	85.9%
Foreign born	7,731 ±1,095	10.9% ±1.5 pp	5.9%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 66,665
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
English only	57,720 ±1,294	86.6% ±1.8 pp	90.9%	77.7%
Spanish	2,815 ±711	4.2% ±1.1 pp	4.7%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	167 ±116 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	173 ±169 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	798 ±366	1.2% ±0.5 pp	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	924 ±457	1.4% ±0.7 pp	0.6%	2.0%
Korean	90 ±99 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	531 ±335 · low precision	0.8% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.3%	1.1%
Vietnamese	370 ±294 · low precision	0.6% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	98 ±88 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,670 ±773	2.5% ±1.2 pp	1.0%	1.1%
Arabic	674 ±297	1.0% ±0.4 pp	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	635 ±448 · low precision	1.0% ±0.7 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 49,548
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,854 ±478	3.7% ±1.0 pp	6.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	7,682 ±832	15.5% ±1.6 pp	30.0%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	8,164 ±793	16.5% ±1.6 pp	19.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	4,625 ±650	9.3% ±1.3 pp	12.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	17,774 ±1,017	35.9% ±1.9 pp	20.9%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	9,449 ±831	19.1% ±1.6 pp	10.5%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 70,259
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Iowa	U.S.
Same house	56,283 ±1,396	80.1% ±2.0 pp	87.1%	87.7%
Moved within same county	6,000 ±959	8.5% ±1.4 pp	6.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	5,025 ±863	7.2% ±1.2 pp	3.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	2,059 ±531	2.9% ±0.8 pp	2.2%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	892 ±635 · low precision	1.3% ±0.9 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.8% of West Des Moines residents (±0.9 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.0% in Iowa and 8.4% nationally. 93.4% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	West Des Moines	Iowa	U.S.	Compared with Iowa
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.8% ±0.9 pp	5.0%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	93.4% ±1.1 pp	88.9%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.4% ±0.9 pp	6.5%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for West Des Moines . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read West Des Moines housing and cost context or return to the city profile.